Railroad-gate for cattle-guards



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH T. MCIN'IYRE, OF MIDDLETOWN, DELAWARE.

RAILROADLG-ATE FOR GAT'ILE-GU'ARDS.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 16,243, dated December 16, 1856.

To all whom t may concern.;

Be it known that I, JOSEPH THOMAS Mc- INTYRE, of Middletown, in the county of Newcastle and State of Delaware, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Cattle-Guards for Railroad-Crossings; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part of this specification.

Figure l, of the drawings is a top view of a rail-road crossing a common road, with two of my improved cattle guards combined with the rail-road; Fig. 2, a longitudinal vertical section in the line m, m, of Fig. l, and Fig. 3, a transverse section in the line n, n, of Fig. l.

Similar letters indicate like parts in all the figures.

In the accompanying drawings f, f, f, represent the ordinary bridge for carrying the travel on a common road over the rail-road, without injuring the rails c, o. Should cattle, or other animals, step Off of said bridge to the right or to the left, they will be received On to one or the other of the tilting platforms a, a.; and as soon as they place a foot upon either of said platforms, their weight will depress its inner end down on to the base beam H, and throw upward the legs g, g, which project from its outer end; which movement will throw upward the gate Z), b, Z/-which is combined with the said platform-as represented at the left hand end of Fig. 2. Each of the platforms a, a, is combined with and rests upon a shaft c, which is received into suitable bearings. Each gate, or guard, is composed of the central part l), located between the rails, and the side pieces l1', Z2', placed outside the rails; the said parts are all rmly secured to a shaft d, which rests in suitable bearing boxes. The extremities of the legs g, g, projecting from the outer ends of the tilting platforms a, a, pass under the respective parts of the gates, or guards b, b', o', nearly to their shafts d, d, and the weight of the said gates, or guards, is sufficient to poise the said platforms and keep them in horizontal posit-ions when at rest, as shown at the right hand end of Fig. 2. The positions of the platforms a, a, and the gates, or guards, l), b', b, in connection with the manner of supporting them, it will be perceived, is such that the depression of the inner ends of the tilting platforms a, a, will throw upward the gates, or guards, and eifectually prevent cattle, or other animals, from passing in either direction down the rail-road track from a common road, crossing the said rail-road.

Gates or guards of different shape, from those herein described and represented, and so arranged and combined with the tilting platforms as to be made to rise and fall vertically, by means Of the action of the tilting platforms, may be employed if preferred.

Vhat I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

The arrangement of the tilting platforms, and the tilting cattle guards with each other and in connection with the rails of railroads at the crossings of common roads, in such a manner that the attempt to pass to the right or to the left from said crossings on to the track, or space between the inclosing fences, will by the weight of the animals making the attempt, instantly raise a barrier before them across the entire width of said railway space substantially in the manner and for t-he purpose herein set forth.

The above specification of my improved cattle guard for rail road crossings, signed and witnessed this 16th day of October A. D. 1855.

JOSEPH THOMAS MOINTYRE. lvitnesses GEO. W. ADAMs, AROHIE H. KERK. 

